SYNOPSIS

It is a known fact that the best endorsements achieve an eclectic balance between
the product (brand) and the celebrity. Giving a brand a 'face' is more than just a
marketing strategy to increase sales or gain market share, it is a decision that can
change the future of the brand forever.
Choice of the celebrity, hence, is of utmost importance and is usually done based
on many different parameters - appeal, looks, popularity or even just a fantasy
figure to endorse a brand.
In today's highly competitive markets, big brands are at logger-heads when it
comes to products, each having a similar product to that of a rival. Where does one
brand gain that quintessential advantage - advertising, service, promise of trust, or
even the all important price factors? Advertising seems to be the best platform
where brands prefer to compete on - right from hiring the best advertising agencies
to getting the biggest celebrities. What would be the formula to success then? Well,
a good creative agency, a large enough promotional budget and a huge star to
endorse your brand would definitely ensure in the minds of a brand management
team a feeling of security, success and a triumph over the competitors brand.
The general belief among advertisers is that brand communication messages
delivered by celebrities and famous personalities generate a higher appeal,
attention and recall than those executed by non-celebrities. The quick message-
reach and impact are all too essential in today's highly competitive environment.
The different models applied by brands to achieve the full potential of such
endorsements, highlight the need for a convergence between the theoretical and
pragmatic approaches of brand building and effective advertising. The importance

HTTP://PAKISTANMBA.JIMDO.COM
 FOR DOWNLOADING THIS REPORT AND FOR
MORE PROJECTS, ASSIGNMENTS, REPORTS ON
MARKETING,
MANAGEMENT,
ECONOMICS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT,
ACCOUNTING,
HUMAN RESOURCE,
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR,
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
COST ACCOUNTING
VISIT
HTTP://PAKISTANMBA.JIMDO.COM

of a celebrity-brand match and the various roles played by them as brand-

associates show the momentum this strategy has gained in the last decade or so. We
put forward certain ideas like 'positioning by association', 'diminishing celebrity
utility' and the Multiplier Effect which show the triangular relationship between the
brand, the consumer and the celebrity.
India is a country where people are star-struck by film stars, cricketers, politicians,
and even criminals. Why? Populations of 1 billion and ticking, everyday people
need something or someone to look up to. A sense of security, admiration, comfort,
familiarity, and above all, someone they aspire to be at some hidden level in their
lives. And clever marketers leverage this very celebrity appeal and are successfully
carrying out their jobs by giving the bottom lines of all the brands what they want -
profit, market share and even recall. But how much star power is too much? "Does
Amitabh really use Tide," asked a 6 year old to her mother. Her mother laughs and
says, "No way, just a gimmick." What does that do to the brand?
Now, despite the potential benefits derived from celebrity endorsements, they
increase a marketer's risk manifolds and should be treated with full attention and
aptitude. A brand should be cautious when employing celebrities to ensure promise
believability and delivery of the intended effect. The growing importance of
mythical characters as celebrities and their sway over the target segments are
ample proof of public demand for icons to look up to. As the celebrities traverse
from a mere commercial presence to public welfare message endorsements, a
whole new dimension is added to this process and helps us in achieving a holistic
view of the impact which celebrities generate in every sphere and segment through
their well-versed endorsements.
At the end of the day, do any stakeholders in a company (employees, contractors,
customers, shareholders, communities the company supports with jobs) benefit
from a celebrity endorsement?
Does anyone buy a product because a Bollywood or TV actor/actress stands up and
reads a script in somewhat convincing manner? Are their distinctions in how
consumers perceive these types of endorsements and respond to them?
What happens when a celebrity endorser gets involved in a public scandal, or
worse, dies? Will the product lose consumer support or perish?
The most important thing to remember is that putting a celebrity in an ad is not an
idea in itself. Unfortunately, this is how most celebrities are being used in Indian
advertising, where they just become a prop. Ideally, there should be an idea that
makes the celebrity relevant to the product and the consumer. A celebrity's
presence in the ad should be contextual.
Celebrity endorsement cannot guarantee fool-proof success. The celebrity
endorsement strategy must be integrated with target market characteristics, and the
other elements of the marketing mix such as product design, branding, packaging,
and pricing. The message execution that will be mouthed by the celebrity must
likewise be made clear and single-minded. You can do this cleverly by aligning the
spirit of the brand to the product, or by using a celebrity because it ensures that
people will notice you, and hopefully remember what the brand is saying. Smart
associations are ones where the former happens.
Before we go into analyzing success and failure stories of brands, we examine the
title once again and try looking at it extremely minutely

Introduction
 Celebrity endorsement is a special type of advertisement which includes a famous
person from film fraternity, athletes, and sports, modeling world etc. it helps in
promoting the product brand and also increasing the sales of the product.

Celebrity endorsement not only has developed in recent years, it is being used
from the past for promoting the product. This type of marketing strategy is used to
promote the product and has proved in it self a boon in advertising world.

It is mainly used to influence the consumer who comes across these

advertisements as it is accessed in the consumers mind for many days even after
the advertisement. Celebrity endorsement has not always helped in promoting the
product but it has been developed considerably over the years.

It is very expensive to endorse a celebrity for a product but in the long run it has
helped in increasing the sales of the product. Celebrities are also interested in
endorsing themselves in the product as they get compensation for it and their
image is been developed considerably.

Businesses have long sought to distract the attention of the potentials customers
that live in a world of ever increasing commercial bombardment. Everyday
consumers are exposed to thousands o voices and images in magazines, news
paper, and on billboards, websites, radio and television .Every brand attempts to
steal a fraction of an unsuspecting person’s time to inform him or her of the
amazing and different attributes of the product at hand. Because of the constant
media saturation that most people experience daily, they eventually become numb
to the standard marketing techniques. The challenge of the marketer is to find a
hook the subject’s attention.

Also from the marketing communications perspective, I is vital that firms design
strategies that help to underpin competitive differential advantage for the firm’s
product or services. Accordingly, the marcom activities back up other elements in
the marketing mix such as designs branding, packaging, pricing and place. The
term celebrity refers to an individual who is known to the public (actor figure,
entertainer, etc.) for his or her achievements the areas other than that of the product
class endorsed (Friedman and Friedman, 1979),. This is true for the classic forms
of celebrity, like actors (eg., Amitabh Bachchan, sharukh Khan, Rani Mukherjee,
Amair Khan and ierceBrosnan.

Models (e.g., Malaika Arora, Lisa Ray , Aishwarya Rai, Naomi Gisele
Buendchen etc)., sports Figures (E.g., Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Sing Dhoni
,Virander Sehwag, rahul Dravid, Zaheer Khan , Steve Waugh, etc). Entainers (e.g.
., Cyrus Broacha, Oparh winfrey, Conan O’Brien), and pop-stars (e.g., Madonna,
Dravid Bowie) – but also for less obvious groups like businessmen (e.g., Donald
Trump, Bill Gates) or politicians.

Celebrities appear in public in different ways. First, they appear in public when
fulfilling their profession, e.g., Viswanathan Anand, who plays chess in front of the
audience. Further more, celebrities appears in public by attending special celebrity
events, e.g., award ceremonies, Inauguration or world premieres of movies. In
addition, they present in news, fashion, magazines, and tabloids’, which provide
second information on events and the ‘private life ‘of celebrities through mass-
media channel (e.g., Smiriti Irani being regulated featured in various publications).
Last but not the least, celebrities act as spokes-people in advertising to promote
products and services, whish is referred to celebrity endorsement.

Celebrity

Per say, a dictionary meaning of this word is “a famous person". A person

who has excelled in his / her field of action or activity. In our day to day activity,
we perform many acts, may at home, at work place, on field in sports, in social life.
But these acts may be daily routine or just "acts" per say giving no extra-ordinary
results, not noticed by anybody surrounding, and not taken into notice by Media.
 But if a person acts or performs something which gives spectacular results is
noticed by masses. That person has "done something" special that we and masses
can not do. He is regarded as a special person with some "extra" given by that
"Almighty" above. We start feeling that he/she is great. We start celebrating his/her
all acts which produce success. If the success rate for that person is very high to
"deliver" same results, he becomes a "CELEBRITY". It may be in field of sports,
cinema, theatre, social life, politics, and science anything but something with some
special results.

But by all means these acts should be with good cause, positive results,
morally good and acceptable results. Eg. A bandit queen of chambal valley was
very famous, but was terror before her surrender to police. But she never becomes
celebrity. But an actress Ms Seema Biswas who acted in film on "Bandit Queen"
on life of that bandit, became very famous and a Celebrity.

A celebrity is perceived as god by masses. They touch their feet, create idols
and worship, garland their photographs, perform "Yagnyas" for their idols
performance, wait for their "Darshan" in hot sun or heavy rains for hours together,
follow fashions of them - wear similar clothes or have similar hair style as that of
celebrity, and on wrongside even commit suicide if celebrity FAILS to deliver
results.

They have tremendous mass followings. They pull crowds with their
presence only. If it is understood that BIG B is coming for shooting a film, to a
particular location on a particular day , then there is big commotion in that area.
Police worry about law and order situation, even young generation throng there in
big nose to have glimpses of BIG B and even wait since early morning leaving
aside their.

Celebrities are people who enjoy public recognition by a large share of a certain
group of people. Whereas attributes like attractiveness, extraordinary lifestyle or
special skills are just examples and specific common characteristics cannot be
observed, it can be said that within a corresponding social group, celebrities
generally differ from the social norm and enjoy a high degree of public awareness.

What is product endorsement?

A product endorsement is a form of testimonial from someone which indicates that
they like or approve of a product. Commonly, product endorsements are solicited
from people who are socially prominent, allowing companies to advertise their
products with statements like “as used by such-and-such an actress,” or “the
official product of company/event X.” It's hard to miss a product endorsement on
product packaging and in advertisements; most companies keep their endorsements
front and center so that they are always in the public eye.
The concept of the product endorsement is quite ancient. In England, for example,
several companies have been advertising themselves as “by appointment to the
Queen” for hundreds of years, indicating that they enjoy the patronage of the
British royal family. Consumers are often seduced by the idea of purchasing a
product which is endorsed by someone wealthy or famous, as though by buying the
product, the consumer also becomes affiliated with the person who endorses it.
Modern product endorsements can come with contracts worth substantial amounts
of money. For example, many sports stars agree to participate in product
endorsementendorsementendorsement campaigns with the understanding that the
company will compensate them for the trouble; some stars donate the proceeds to
charities they support, using the product endorsement as a public relations
campaign. In exchange for an endorsement contract, someone may agree to use the
product publicly whenever possible, and they may be restricted from using
products made by a competitor.
A product endorsement doesn't necessarily mean that a product is good. It just
means that the company has managed to work its public relations connections to
get a big name associated with it. While most people and organizations will try out
a product before they agree to endorse it, this isn't always the case, and you
shouldn't rely on endorsements to speak to the quality of the product, especially if
you are concerned about issues like illegal labor or adulterated products.
Some endorsements take the form of written testimonials, where people write
about how the product changed their lives. Historically, such testimonials were
often printed on the product packaging directly; modern testimonials are more
commonly included in advertising campaigns, with excerpts only on the
packaging. Many companies also use photographs of famous people on their
products to create a visual connection between the endorser and the product, which
is why sports stars appear on your cereal box.

What is celebrity endorsement?

The use of celebrities in order to increase the sales and/ or the recall value of a brand
is called celebrity endorsement

The late '80s saw the beginning of celebrity endorsements in advertising in India.
Hindi film and TV stars as well as sportspersons began encroaching on a territory that
was, until then, the exclusive domain of models. There was a spurt of advertising,
featuring stars like Tabassum (Prestige pressure cookers), Jalal Agha (Pan Parag),
Kapil Dev (Palmolive Shaving Cream) and Sunil Gavaskar (Dinesh Suitings). Of
course, probably the first ad to cash in on star power in a strategic, long-term, mission
statement kind of way was for Lux soap, a brand which has, perhaps as a result of this,
been among the top three in the country for much of its lifetime. Detergents on the
other hand ran the whole gamut from Lalitaji - the antithesis of celebrity - to Shekhar
Suman stepping into the lives of ordinary housewives.(Blonnet, April 2003)

Endorsements by celebrities have started since a long time. The very fact that their use
has continued for so long is proof enough of its immense advantages, but they have
several disadvantages too. When it comes to celebrity endorsement, the first brand that
comes to the Indian mind is that of Lux, the Beauty Bar of the Stars. Since its
inception, Lux the brand has grown positioning itself thus. However, recently Lux has
tried to change its positioning from being a woman’s soap to being soap for men as
well. Sticking to its strategy of using celebrities to appeal to its target audience, this
time around it has used Shah Rukh Khan to endorse Lux. But this time the response
has been confusing. This paper attempts to find out if this strategy of Lux has been
successful or not.
 Background

Celebrities are involved in endorsing activities since late nineteenth century. The
advent of the celebrity endorsements in advertising in India began when Hindi
films and TV stars as well as sportsperson began encroaching on a territory that
was, until then, the exclusive domain of models.
One of the first sports endorsements in India was when Farokh Engineer became
the first Indian Crickets to model for bryl Cream The Indian cricket teams now
earns roughly Rs. 100 crore through endorsements. There was a spurt of
advertising, featuring stars like tabassum (pretisge Pressure cookers). Jalal Agha
(Pan Parag).Kapil Dev (Palmolive Shaving cream) and Sunil Gavaskar (Dinesh
Sutings)

Rise of celebrity culture

The modern mass media has increased the exposure and power of celebrity.
Often, celebrity carries with it immense social capitals that is highly sought after
by some individuals. High paying jobs and other social perks unavailable to most
people are readily available to celebrities, even for wok not connected to the talents
or accomplishment that made them famous.

For example

A retired athletes might receive high “speaking fees ‘ or compensation for public
appearances, despite his talent having been sports, not oratory, while some envy
celebrities, and many aspire to celebrity , some who have attained it are ambivalent
about their status . Often, celebrities cannot escape the public eye, and risk being
followed by fans. As well, child celebrities are notorious for having poor emotional
health in adulthood, and often turn to drug and alcohols abuse when their celebrity
(as it usually does) fades.
 Some participants in reality television shows have admitted that they appeared on
these programs with the goal in mind of attain celebrity. Most often they achieve
only ‘fleeting celebrity’ with no special figures, has pervaded many sectors of
society including business, publishing, and even academy (the celebrities)

Only small portions of individuals in any profession can achieve celebrity. For
those who do., the benefit can be substantial –in the form of speaking access. There
are disadvantages as well; however, academics and business leads that become
well known often lose credibility with their colleagues.

In many fields, such as the arts and publishing, a moderate measure of celebrity
(being’ established) I necessary before individuals in these sectors are poorly-
compensated though they may be as talented or more so then well compensated,
famous people in he same field.

Concept of celebrity endorsement

Meaning of celebrity endorsement

In India today, the use of celebrity advertising for companies has become a
trend and a perceive winning formula of corporate image building and product
marketing. Associating a brand with a top-notch celebrity can do more than perk
up brand recall. It can create linkages with the stars appeal, thereby adding
refreshing and new dimensions to the brand image.
In a world filled with faces, how many do you remember? Admittedly the ones
that evoke some kind of feel in you, whether it’s humors, acceptance, appreciation
or recognition. These are the faces you’d turn to look at, the ones that would stop
you in your tracks. And that’s when you have more than just a face. You have
personality.
 “Personality that’s reflective of your brand and promises to take it that extra
mile”.

The argument supports a position by citing the endorsement of someone who is

well known famous. The person need not necessarily be an authority implies that
the endorser’s game alone is sufficient to establish the truth of the position.

As existing media get increasingly cluttered, the need to stand out has become
paramount- and celebrities have proved to be the ideal way to ensure brand
prominence. Synergizing personality with product and message can create an
instant breakthrough. Result? Brand buzz. People begin to notice, opportunities
come about. People want to be part of the brand.

“Touch it. Feel it. Experience it.”

‘Celebrities as brands’ is a concept-selling challenge, as the current notion of

celebrity management is far from ideal – it’s perceived as a business that merely
attaches celebrity to the brand to get that added advantage. However, the actual job
is not mere brokerage --- it’s about selecting a celebrity whose characteristics’ are
congruent with the brand image.

Before we proceed to identify the right celebrity or personality and test the
correspondence bias lets first have a look at the literature survey done, address a
few issues involved in celebrity advertising and understand the methodology of the
study.

Using celebrities in advertising dates back to the late nineteenth century and this
common advertising practice has drawn a considerable amount of academic and
practical attention. Most academic investigations of celebrity endorsement have
been contextualized in the realm of source credibility and attractiveness models,
and suggest that celebrities exert their influence on consumer through perceived
attributes such as expertise, trustworthiness, attractiveness, familiarty, and
likeability

Another stream of research on celebrity endorsement which labeled the “match-

up hypothesis: has examined the lift or “match” between a celebrity and product
being endorsed, and maintains that celebrity endorsement is more effective when
the in similar vein, McCracken suggest that a: celebrity who best represent the
appropriate symbolic properties “of the product should be selected, thus
highlighting the importance of the cultural meanings of celebrities in the
endorsement process.

Celebrites embody a collection of culturally relevnt images, symbols, and values.

As the images of the celebrity become associated with the products through
endorsement, the meanings they attach to the product are transffered to consumer
through and consumption. Therefore, the practice for celebrity endorsement should
be closely related to the cultural context in which the images of celebrities are
formed and individual celebrites are selected to be linked with particular products.

For advertising practitioners, employing an appropriate celebrity endorser to

promote a product is important and difficult tasks. For instance ,as suggested in the
theoretical literature , professional at advertising agencies and their companies in
the united states and united kingdom cited celebrity attributes such as image ,
trustworthiness
Familiarity, as well as the fit between celebrity and the product, as important
factors for choosing the appropriate endorsers.

Other highly ranked decision factors include celebrity/ target- audience

congruence, costs of securing the celebrity, the celebrity’s risk of controversy, and
the celebrity’s prior endorsement. As suggested by Erdogan, Baker, and Tagg
(2001), the perceived importance and the actual use of endorser selection criteria
may vary from culture to culture. Differences in the entertainment industry and the
agency business, and more broadly, in the cultural environments are likely to
influence the execution of the celebrity endorsement strategy across countries.

Arguing for standardized advertising across countries, some contend that consumer
demands and tastes have become similar on a global scale (and that using
celebrities with world wide recognition in advertising is an effective means of
overcoming cultural difficulties. Others claim that despite some observed
convergence among consumer around world, fundamental values still remain
divergent across cultures. Therefore, international advertisers cannot assume that
the same advertising technique should be uniformly applied or that it will be
equally effective in different countries. Yet research on similatries and differences.

Celebrity endorsements are very expensive. Therefore their use in an ad should

be justified. In other words, the message strategy for a brand should strongly
warrant the use a known face in an idea. Sadly, very often the celebrity is hired
first and an idea is then weaved around his or her presence.

Khan stresses, “The important thing to remember is that putting a celebrity in an ad

is not an idea in itself. Unfortunately, this is how most celebrities are being used in
Indian advertising, where they just become a prop. Ideally, there should be an idea
that makes the celebrity relevant to the product and the consumer.”

A celebrity’s presence in the ad should be contextual. When Sachin Tendulkar

declares, “Boost is the secret of my energy,” it doesn’t seem out of context.
Internationally, Nike’s association with Michael Jordan is legendary and also
logical.

Mendonza adds, “I think celebrity endorsements work best when the celebrity is
not introducing the brand. When the product already has a strong identity and a
USP that is well established, then a celebrity can come in and give the brand an
added fillip and generate some more interest value. However, what is of paramount
importance is to find a complete fit between the values of the brand and the values
of the celebrity. One needs to create a unique situation or story that links the
celebrity to the product.”

Is it smart to use celebrity endorsements for branding?

Stars, who are known to shape destinies, cast an enormous influence. No, we’re not
talking about astrology here. We’re referring to the powerful effect of celebrities on
destinies of brands. One approving nod from a famous face can translate into
millions in brand sales. Perhaps that’s why the world over, companies have been
using stars to endorse everything, from food to food chains, from soft and hard
drinks to health drinks, from clothes and accessories to cars (and the tyres on
which they run). Even political parties are awestruck by the charisma of stars. Such
is the magnetism of celebrities in this country that in the recent general elections,
major political parties fielded a record number of film stars and cricketers to
contest from important constituencies around the country.

So what about celebrities drives companies to spend in millions on obtaining

their stamp of approval on their brands?

Celebrity Endorsements as a strategy

Signing up stars for endorsements is a time-tested strategy and has been effectively
used by some of the top brands in the world including Nike and Pepsi. In India too,
HLL has used Hindi film stars to endorse their beauty soap Lux since the fifties.
Vimal, Thums Up, Gwalior and Dinesh are some of the other brands that used star-
appeal in the early days of mass advertising. And who can forget Kapil ‘Palmolive’
Dev?
Ask about the objective of using a celebrity in an ad and most admen will talk
about making an impact on the bottom line. They believe that star endorsements
have several benefits, key among them being building credibility, fostering trust
and drawing attention… any or all of which can translate into higher brand sales.
So how does one decide whether to put a celebrity in an ad? Ideally, this should be
dictated by the communication idea. MG Parmeswaran, Executive Director of FCB
Ulka says, “As advertising professionals, we recommend celebrity endorsements
when the case is justified. There are many cases where you need to use the
celebrity to break out of a category clutter. At times celebrity endorsement is used
to build credibility to the brand offer.”
Most experts concur that, when used judiciously, celebrity endorsements can be
an effective strategy. According to Mohammed Khan, Chairman of Enterprise
Nexus, “Using a celebrity by itself is not a bad idea provided it is done
intelligently.” And there are many examples of good and bad use of celebrities.
Take Amitabh Bachchan, who has been used by some companies like Parker Pens
and ICICI Home Loans remarkably well while some others have been unable to
exploit his Big B status too well. Shah Rukh Khan’s endorsement of Hyundai
Santro too seems to have worked well. Parmeswaran adds, “We used cricketers like
Rahul Dravid for Castrol in an attempt to break out of the clutter, as well as have
an image rub off of ‘dependability’ on to the brand.”
Yet, there are some who don’t have much conviction in star endorsements. Adrian
Mendonza, Executive VP and Creative Director of Rediffusion DY&R does not
recommend celebrity endorsements because he thinks that to be really successful, a
brand needs to have a strong identity of its own. It should ideally not piggyback on
the identity of a celebrity and hope to achieve success. Mendonza adds, “I
somehow get this feeling that not much effort is put in to think through an ad with
a celebrity. Most times it seems like it is just the celebrity saying ‘I use this
product, so why don’t you’ kind of thing and the ad agency thinks it has done its
job.”

Celebrity endorsements are capable of manifesting both favourable and adverse

effects for the brands with which they associate. Let’s analyse both.

Mechanism and theories of celebrity endorsement

Celebrity endorsements give a brand a touch of glamour and the hope that a
famous face will provide added appeal and name recognition in a crowded market.
In the battle for the mind, you get the customer excited by showing him a known
face, and an effective demand is created. In short it helps increase the recall value
of the brand. A piece of research states that the target audience age group of 15-30
gets influenced first by cricketers, then Bollywood stars and only then music,
festivals and food4.

According to Source Credibility Theory5, acceptance of the message depends on

'Expertness' and Trustworthiness' of the source. Expertness is defined as the
perceived ability of the source to make valid assertions. Trustworthiness is defined
as the perceived willingness of the source to make valid assertions. Audience
acceptance increases with the expertness of the source and the ability of the
audience to evaluate the product.

According to Source Attractiveness Theory, which is based on social psychological

research, the acceptance of the message depends on familiarity, likeability and
similarity. Familiarity is the audience's knowledge of the source through exposure;
likeability is the affection for the source's physical appearance and behavior while
similarity is the resemblance between source and receiver. This theory explains the
message acceptance in two ways: Identification and Conditioning. Identification is
when the receiver or the target audience of the communication begins to identify
with the source's attractiveness, and hence tends to accept his opinions, beliefs,
habits, attitudes etc. On identification, a quote from Bijou Kurien, COO, Titan,
"We decided on Aamir because we wanted someone who is a bit iconic, who is
style-conscious himself, and somebody who cuts across both sex and age group,
between urban and rural India. A celebrity who is mouldable and who is not over-
exposed". Conditioning is when the attractiveness of the source is supposed to pass
on to the brand after regular association of the source with the brand.

Grant McCracken6 has criticized the previous two theories and proposed the
Meaning Transfer Theory. The theory explains that a celebrity encodes a unique set
of meanings which if well used can be transferred to the endorsed product. Such a
transfer takes place in three stages – encoding meanings, meaning transfer,
meaning capture (Figure 1).

I. Encoding Meanings: Each celebrity has a unique set of meanings, which can be
listed by age, gender, race, wealth, personality or lifestyle. In this way, the
celebrities encode a set of meanings in their image. For example Preity Zinta can
be seen as a lively, charming, bubbly, witty and enthusiastic.
II. Meaning Transfer: This stage transfers those meanings to the product. When
skillfully portrayed, celebrities can communicate this image more powerfully than
lay endorsers.

III. Meaning Capture: This assumes that consumers purchase products not merely
for their functional value but also for their cultural and symbolic value. The theory
says that consumers buy the endorsed product with the intention of capturing some
of the desirable meanings with which celebrities have passed on to the product.
This is more eminent in lifestyle products like clothes, perfumes, cell phones etc.

Celebrity endorsement can be key to marketing success

There's no denying the fact that marketing chiropractic can be challenging. The
public has long been exposed to negative reports about it from the medical and
drug industries, as well as from well-meaning but uninformed consumer advocates.
They've heard chiropractic jokes on sit-coms and warnings on the nightly news.
To market chiropractic in general — and your practice in particular — you must
first overcome lingering fears, ignorance and skepticism that keep people from
coming to your office. One of the most powerful ways to surmount these obstacles
is to use a celebrity endorsement.

When you tell people that chiropractic can help them, they may or may not believe
you. After all, you have a vested interest in selling your services.
But when celebrities say that chiropractic has helped them, and it could help
others, people tend to listen — and believe. After all, most people assume "he
wouldn't say it if it weren't true."
As Marketing expert Patrick Bishop — co-author of "Money Tree Marketing:
Innovative Secrets That Will Double Your Small-Business Profits in 90 Days or
Less" — noted:

"When you get a celebrity to endorse your company or sign a licensing

agreement, you benefit from customers' awareness of the property, [which]
could include the perception of quality, educational value or a certain image."
After researching the impact of celebrity endorsements, Melissa St. James, a
doctoral fellow and marketing instructor at The George Washington University
concluded,
"Studies show that using celebrities can increase consumers' awareness of the
ad, capture [their] attention and make ads more memorable" (quoted in
"Celebrity Endorsements," by Kimiko L. Martinez, Entrepreneur's Start-Ups
magazine, May 2001).
If you're not convinced yet of the effectiveness of celebrity endorsements, here's
what Jonathan Gaines, president and CEO of top marketing firm DMS Strategies
has to say:
"High-profile endorsements from athletes and celebrities will set you apart
from your competitors, and you can become a contender in the playing field
—a celebrity spokesperson can work for companies of all sizes."
Obviously, celebrity endorsements work. In fact, they work so well that about 20%
of all television commercials feature a celebrity.
"Many companies have had considerable success using celebrities as
spokespersons, especially athletes," stated researchers Amy Dyson and Douglas
Turco, in "The State of Celebrity Endorsement in Sport," for the Cyber-Journal of
Sport Marketing. They found that, in 1995, U.S. companies paid more than $1
billion to 2,000 athletes for endorsement deals, and that sport endorsers were
featured in 11% of all television advertisements that same year. "Research has
indicated that customers are more likely to choose goods and services endorsed by
celebrities than those without such endorsements," they concluded.
Their research shows that one of the advantages to celebrity-based marketing
campaigns is that:
"Famous people hold the viewer's attention. In this era of sound-bytes and
channel surfing, there is a demand for people's time and focus. For instance, a
commercial with the WNBA's Lisa Leslie or NHL's Wayne Gretzky is more
likely to keep a television remote control clicker on the channel versus a
commercial with a local doctor or dentist."
Of course, any marketing material — even with a powerful celebrity endorsement
— must be a combination of both education and sales. It has to convince people
that chiropractic is a safe and effective health care approach — and that it (and
you) can help them in a very real and direct way. In short, it has to answer the
question: "What can it do for ME?"
That's why a celebrity video like the one produced by the World Chiropractic
Alliance, featuring former boxing champion Paul "The Ultimate" Vaden, can
be so effective!
Here's a celebrity, boldly declaring "Without chiropractic, I would not have won
the championship." Can you imagine the impact such a statement can make on a
person who wants to be healthy, strong and fit?
The video goes on to explain WHY chiropractic helped Paul, and how it can help
everyone, including children.
The WCA video, called "Chiropractic Champion," builds on the Paul Vaden's
strong endorsement by including testimonials from real chiropractic patients —
people who establish an instant rapport with viewers.
Narrated by WCA President Terry A. Rondberg, D.C., the video details in clear,
easy-to-understand language, the concept of subluxation and why people of all
ages need regular adjustments to correct them. Using graphics, film clips and
props, the video is an attention-grabbing presentation that will keep people
watching.
The World Chiropractic Alliance has helped doctors across the globe build large
and successful practices, using the million-selling books "Chiropractic First," and
"Chiropractic Works!" Now, with the addition of the "Chiropractic Champion"
video, doctors have another effective tool to draw people into their offices and
keep them coming for regular, life-time wellness care.
The video is perfect for showing during workshops, classes and educational events
in your community, as well as in your waiting room. Copies also make ideal "give-
aways" since very few people will throw them out without viewing them.
The videos are available from the WCA for just $4.00 each, plus $22.85 postage
and handling in quantities of 50. When purchasing 100 or more tapes, the price
drops to only $3.00 per tape, plus postage and handling.
Fit with the Advertising Idea
Marketers now seek to adopt 360 degree brand stewardship in which the brand sees
no limits on the number of contact points possible with a target consumer.
Advertising ideas, thus, revolve around this approach, and the celebrity
endorsement decisions are made through these strategic motives.
One of the most successful celebrity endorsement campaigns which reflect the fit
between the brand and the 360 degree advertising fit is Fardeen Khan and
Provogue. Provogue's positioning in the apparel market is of a young, active, party-
going, attention-grabbing brand and so is Fardeen Khan. The conjunction between
the two has been immensely impact and brand managers have utilized this
endorsement through 360 degree reinforcement. Provogue Lounge and extensive
phased insertions in print in selective publications reaching out to their target
audience has made it as one of the highest recalled celebrity endorsement.
Similarly, Richard Gere's recent endorsement for VISA in India has gained acclaim
due to its innovativeness and consumer connects. Brand marketers say that
research reveals that Richard Gere was the most popular face across the Asia
Pacific region, and would also fit into the persona of the brand meeting their
communication objective to enhance VISA's brand leadership and consumer
preference, and the motive to continue the "All it Takes" empowerment platform
featuring international celebrities.
Celebrity-Target Audience Match
Smriti Irani endorsing the WHO recommended ORS Campaign in India. Indian
mothers can associate with Smriti Irani through the facets she projects on screen or
in regular life which helps develop a connect with the target audience since
mothers medicate their children with ORS. The inserial placement of the campaign
in "Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi" has won it an award from PR Week.
Similarly, Irfan Pathan endorsing Hero Cycles has gained the brand immense recall
and embarked through the positve association between the consumer and the
brand.
Celebrity Values
Celebrity branding is all about the transfer of the value from the person to the
product he endorses or stands for. There are two concerns here. The first is how
long this could last. Can the person maintain his popularity (i.e., his performance
or status ranking)?

The lifecycle of celebrity popularity varies a lot. The second concern is his private
life - personal integrity. If he is implicated in any kind of scandal, that would ruin
the brand. "Who would want to use Michael Jackson to brand their product?"
(brandchannel.com)
Tabu endorsing Tetra Packed Milk, Shabana Azmi campaigning for AIDS
Awareness, Amitabh Bachchan & Shahrukh Khan campaigning for Pulse Polio or
Aishwarya Rai appearing in the Donate Eyes campaign are few examples, which
reflect the transfer of celebrity values to the brand, creating an impact that
generates recall.

Costs of Acquiring the Celebrity

Consequently, companies must have deep pockets to be able to afford the best
available celebrities. Recently, a newspaper report showed how cola firms had
gone beyond their Another interesting example would be of Steve Waugh
campaigning for Tourism Australia in India since he was one of the popular
celebrities from Australia and could carry the messge of Australia as a tourist
destination. Other celebrities like Kylie Minogue, Nicole Kidman from Australia
can be prospective endorsers for Brand Australia but not in the region of India.
Celebrity-Product Match
Cyrus Broacha is the brand ambassador for MTV since both the celebrity and the
brand are considered as friendly, young, mood-boosting, humorous and outspoken.
MTV's brand personality overlaps Cyrus Broacha's image as a brand.
Some more examples of compatible celebrity product match in which celebrity
brand attributes get transferred to the brand and increases the brand equity is of
Mallaika Arora & Freshizza from Pizza Hut, Govinda & Navratan Tel, Sanjay Dutt
& Elf Oil, Sunny Deol & Lux Undergarments, Aishwarya Rai & Nakshatra, etc.
Celebrity Controversy Risk
The perfect example here is of Salman Khan and the controversy in which he
crushed a man to death with his Pajero when he was driving under the influence of
alcohol. Also, any act on the part of the endorser that gives him a negative image
among the audience and goes on to affect the brands endorsed. The brand, in most
instances, takes a bashing.
Celebrity Popularity
Celebrity Brand association like Garnier endorsed Tara Sharma & Simone Singh,
Agni Diamonds & Riama Sen don't get much brand recall, and even if they do, its
difficult to attribute it to the celebrities' endorsing the brand.
On the other hand, HPCL has had increased popularity and share of voice due to
the endorsement of the brand through Sania Mirza
Advertising budgets to get the best celebrities. Small firms that use celebrities'
services run greater risks if they invest large amounts. Although nobody is willing
to say exactly how much celebrities get paid, industry sources say Sachin
Tendulkar's price is believed to be between Rs. 2.0-2.5 crore per endorsement, and
musician A. R. Rehman, who had signed up with AirTel, is believed to have picked
up Rs. 1.75 crore. Film-star Hrithik Roshan was rumored to have picked up Rs. 2
crore for the Fly with Hrithik campaign to push Close-Up, and Shahrukh Khan's
rate seems to be between Rs. 2.5-3.0 crore. Aishwarya Rai apparently picks up Rs.
1.25 crore for an endorsement and the Indian cricket captain Saurav Ganguly is
believed to get between Rs. 90 lakh to Rs. 1.5 crore, while film-star Aamir Khan
apparently makes Rs. 1.5 crore per endorsement.
Celebrity Regional Appeal Factors
R. Madhavan endorsing Pepsi in southern India or Sachin Tendulkar endorsing in
India are few examples of how celebrities are chosen to reach out to target
audiences for brands in regional markets.
Celebrity Availability
In case of various brands, there are situations in which they prefer to go without a
brand face, since there is no brand-fit between the celebrities available and the
brand. Also, due to multiple endorsements by certain celebrities, brands refuse to
adopt celebrity endorsement since they fear dilution of the brand image.
Celebrity Physical Attractiveness
Bipasha Basu' physical attractiveness and her connect with the brand makes Levis
Strauss's campaign through celebrity in India, John Abraham endorsing Wrangler
and Timex Sunglasses are some examples which portray the celebrities' physical
attractiveness that helps create an impact.
Celebrity Credibility
The most important aspect and reason for celebrity endorsement is credibility. In a
research carried out among 43 ad agencies and companies, most experts believed
that the most important dimensions of credibility are trustworthiness and prowess
or expertise with regard to the recommended product or service (Miciak and
Shanklin, 2002). One of the most obvious reasons of Amitabh Bachchan endorsing
plethora of brands is the credibility of the celebrity and his recognition across
consumers.
To site one of the most successful campaigns in which the celebrity's credibility
has had an indelible impact on the brand and has saved the brand is of Cadbury's.
After the worm controversy, Amitabh Bachchan's credibility infused into the brand
through the campaign, helping it to get back on track. The campaign has won an
award for the same.
Multiple Endorsements
The case of multiple endorsements, both in terms of a single brand hiring multiple
celebrities and that of a single celebrity endorsing multiple brands, is often
debated. At times, consumers do get confused about the brand endorsed when a
single celebrity endorses numerous brands. The recall then gets reduced and
reduces the popularity of the brand. Not many people can remember all the brands
that a celebrity endorses and the chances of losing brand recall increases if the
celebrity endorses multiple brands. For example, in case of Sachin Tendulkar
people recall Pepsi, TVS Victor and MRF, but might not remember brands like
Britannia and Fiat. Similarly, for Amitabh Bachchan, consumers remember ICICI,
Pepsi, Parker Pens, Pulse Polio and BPL. They might get confused in the
endorsement of Nerolac or Asian Paints. Thus, for multiple endorsements where
the same celebrity endorses several brands, it boils down to the strength of the
brand and the advertising content.
Whether Celebrity is a Brand User
One of the strongest platforms to discuss this is through NGOs. Various
celebrities endorse NGOs and social causes since they believe in the social
message that they need to convey to the audience. One of the most successful
campaigns has been executed by PETA in which celebrities like Shilpa Shetty,
Amisha Patel, Yana Gupta, Sheetal Malhar, and Mahima Choudhary Claimed to
believe in PETA's philosophy, and thereby endorse the brand.
On the other hand, while some would understand that Amitabh Bachchan would
have never used Navratan Tel, the target audience that the brands wants to reach
out to will be ready to believe that he used the oil and his endorsement thereby
creates an impact
Difference between Brand Ambassador & Brand Face
A Brand Ambassador would be one who is not only a spokesperson for the
brand or is just appearing as a testimonial for the brand's benefits. He/she
is an integral part of the brand persona and helps to build an emotional,
which goes beyond just appearing on TV commercials.
He takes up the cause of a Brand Champion and is associated with every
aspect related with the brand. What is more, there is a significant difference
between making just an endorsement for say, a shampoo or an automobile,
and being that brand's alter ego. Both parties take the latter far more
seriously to the deal. So a brand ambassador would be involved in press
releases, he/she would be actively participating in any sales promotion,
sporting the Brand all the while. For example, Fardeen Khan is the brand
ambassador for Provogue while he remains a brand face for Lux Body
Wash.
On the other hand, a Brand Face would be the current celebrity who is just
used as a tool to increase brand recall and is only appearing in the
advertisement. It is usually seen that a brand face is a temporary contract
and is very short term at times. An example would be Sona Chandi
Chawanpryash using Sourav Ganguly for a while in its commercials. Brand
faces are easily forgotten and fades away with the campaign's end.

Impact Regions of Celebrity Endorsement

While brand marketers with positive experiences would tend to believe that
celebrity endorsements work and some would disagree, but one would be sure that
the magnitude of its impact is difficult to measure even if sales figures are at our
disposal. However, we can understand why it works and the impact regions of
celebrity endorsement.
The illustrations below explain the same: -

Source: Adopted from TOM et al, 1992.

How Celebrity Endorsements Influence the Consumer

The basis for the effectiveness of celebrity-endorsed advertising can be linked to
Kelman's processes of social influence as discussed by Friedman and Friedman.
According to Kelman, there are three processes of social influence, which result in
an individual adopting the attitude advocated by the communicator:
Compliance, Identification & Internalization
These latter two processes are particularly applicable to celebrity-endorsed
advertising.
Compliance infers that another individual or group of individuals influences an
individual cause he or she hopes to achieve a favourable reaction from this other
group. This process of social influence is not directly applicable to celebrity
advertising because there is little, if any, interaction between the celebrity and the
consumer.
Identification applies to the situation wherein the individuals emulate the attitudes
or behaviour of another person or group, simply because they aspire to be like that
person or group. This process is the basis for referent power. It was found that
celebrities are more commonly liked than a typical consumer spokesperson.
Internalization as a process of social influence is said to occur when individuals
adopt the attitude or behaviour of another person because that behaviour is viewed
as honest and sincere and is congruent with their value system. The effectiveness
of celebrity advertising traditionally has not been strongly linked to this process, as
a celebrity's reason for promoting a product can just as easily be attributed by the
consumer to an external motive (i.e., payment of fee) as to an internal motive (i.e.,
the celebrity's true belief in the value and benefit of the product). An important
issue of concern relates to the development of a strategy for use in Ce

FOR COMPLETE REPORT AND DOWNLOADING

VISIT

HTTP://PAKISTANMBA.JIMDO.COM